1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a poker game suitable for use in casinos and other gaming establishments, as well as wagering or non-wagering space including websites and applications, as a video poker game. The invention further relates to casino gaming wherein a draw poker game is played upon an apparatus including a processor, input device and monitor and may provide a greater probability of winning by enhancing the replacement deck with additional cards.
2. Background of the Art
Games based upon variations of poker have attained enormous popularity as casino-type entertainment games, particularly in the last twenty years. The success of poker games in the gaming industry is partially based on the game's simplicity (i.e., there is widespread public knowledge of the game rules) and the fact that players feel more directly involved in exercising judgment in the play of the game.
Traditional poker as played in card rooms, casinos, and wagering or non-wagering websites allows players to compete head to head against other players. The advent of video technology has also allowed poker games to be played not against other players but against a paytable that determines wins and losses. These games are described as “video poker”.
Video poker was first conceived as a “Jacks-or-Better” draw poker game; that is, the player must achieve at least a pair of jacks in order to win. Traditionally, the highest paying Jacks-or-Better hand is a royal flush, and all 4-of-a-kinds or “quads” (that is, four 2s through four Aces) each pay the same premium award. Since Jacks-or-Better gameplay is non-volatile (that is, there are few large swings between winning and losing hands), many new and more volatile approaches to video poker have been developed for gaming machines. These poker versions include Bonus Poker, Double Bonus Poker, Double Double Bonus Poker and Triple Double Bonus Poker. In comparison to Jacks-or-Better gameplay, in each of these versions the awards for achieving certain final hands containing 4-of-a-kind are enhanced, while the awards for lower-paying final hands such as a full house or 3-of-a-kind are diminished. These versions have become very popular since the awards for 4-of-a-kind can be very significant; in fact, in Triple Double Bonus Poker, achieving four Aces with the fifth card being a 2, 3 or 4 pays the same as achieving a royal flush.
Typically, a hand of 5-card draw poker is dealt from a standard deck of 52 cards. The player chooses to hold none, one, some or all of the dealt cards. Any non-held cards are discarded, and replacement cards from the remaining deck of 47 cards are provided. The final hand is evaluated for any winning combinations, and paid according to a predetermined paytable.
In more recent years, new video poker variations have been invented in addition to the above described various poker versions, including bonus games, wild card games and multiplier games. These variations have added additional excitement, anticipation and volatility to video poker, thereby increasing player participation. This is important to any gaming establishment. Since in virtually every gambling game there is a house advantage (that is, the casino will hold a percentage of the bet, and the player will play the game at less than a 100% payout), it is advantageous for the casino to draw in players to the machine and keep them playing.
Certain attempts have been made to create new video poker games in order to stimulate player participation. In particular, the following prior art refers to certain cards being added or subtracted during the play of the basic draw poker game, or different replacement card rules being applied.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,342,933 and 8,016,656 (Berman, et al.) describes a video poker game in which a player is allowed to hold cards (or other items) of a starting hand/payline. Multiple sets of potential replacement cards are provided, from which the player can select the desired set of replacement cards. The selected set of replacement cards is used to complete the player's hand.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,308,538 (Naicker) teaches a poker game that is presented with opportunities to replace one or more of the cards in his or her hand. The first such replacement may be free, but the player may incur a cost for each subsequent replacement. This cost may be based on how much the player is expected to benefit from the replacement.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,210,533, 8,210,532 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,993,191 (Evans, et al.) describe a gaming system having a five-card draw poker game. An initial five-card hand is dealt and a first draw card is revealed. The player may keep or discard the first draw card. After the player decides whether to keep or discard the first draw card, the player may replace cards in the initial hand. If the player selects to discard the first draw card, this card is not used as a replacement card to form a final hand. In certain implementations, the player first selects cards in the initial hand to replace. If the player elects to keep the first draw card, the gaming system displays a second draw card and the player may keep or discard the second draw card. This process continues until all discarded cards in the initial hand have been replaced or the player elects to discard one of the draw cards.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,926,813 (Moody) discloses a poker game in which an extra card is added to the original deck (preferably an extra Ace of all suits) in order to more easily achieve 4-of-a-kind Aces or 5-of-a-kind Aces.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,470,183 (Wishart) provides data indicative of a final outcome that may be received, and an initial set of symbols indicative of the final outcome may be displayed if the data indicative of the final outcome indicates a winning outcome, the initial set of symbols including an initial winning subset of symbols and an initial non-winning subset of symbols. Player input data indicative of a subset of symbols in the initial set to be discarded may be received, and replacement symbols may be determined such that a final set of symbols is indicative of the final outcome if the subset of symbols to be discarded includes at least one symbol from the initial winning subset, wherein the final set of symbols includes the replacement symbols in place of the subset of symbols to be discarded.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,056,206 (Aoki, et al.) discloses a video poker game in which a plurality of face-up cards are dealt from a deck into a card hand. If any of the face-up cards is a predefined special card, the game proceeds with a special feature that allows the player to draw a replacement card to replace the special card. The replacement card may be drawn from a plurality of possible face-up or face-down cards. The game may include a standard draw option that allows a player to select and replace none or more of the face-up cards. The special card may trigger the special feature at any time, whether it appears before or after the draw.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,602,134 (Wood, et al.) teaches a card game in which the player makes a wager, preferably a five credit wager, and the player is then dealt an initial five card hand. The player may then stand on his initial five cards or the player may discard unwanted cards and receive a replacement cards for each card that is discarded. In order to discard unwanted cards, the player must make an additional wager, preferably in the amount of one additional credit, for each card that the player wishes to discard.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,823,873 (Moody) describes a video poker game in which the player first plays a five-card draw poker hand. The player selects which of the five cards he wishes to discard and replacement cards for the discarded cards come from a stud poker hand.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,019,973 (Wilcox) discloses a method of conducting a draw poker game wherein the player is provided an option to purchase an additional draw card from the deck for an additional wager.
United States Patent Application No. 20110312399 (Vancura) teaches a poker game in which a player is dealt a first set of cards, such as 5 cards. The player elects which cards to hold and which cards to discard, if any. Upon discarding any cards, a player is dealt a second set of cards, preferably in the same number as the first set of cards. Subsets of the second set of replacement cards are combined with the cards held from the first set of cards to form final hands of cards.
United States Patent Application No. 20080064462 (Gerrard, et al.) discloses a poker game with multiple options for the player to purchase extra cards. In one embodiment a stud five-card hand is dealt to the player. The player can keep the five cards or purchase an extra card at a first cost. If the player purchases the first card, the player can thereafter keep the six-card hand or purchase a second card at a second higher cost. This cycle is repeated for up to a predetermined number of cards such as five additional cards in one embodiment. When five additional cards are purchased, the game provides any accrued award to the player.
United States Patent Application No. 20070077976 (Jackson) teaches a video poker game in which a number of cards are dealt face-up to form an initial hand. The player may select to hold none, one, some or all of the dealt cards. The player then may choose none or at least one of the unheld cards to receive a narrowed selection of possible replacement cards. The narrowing of the number of possible replacement cards will most likely increase the odds of receiving a replacement card that will ultimately enhance the initial deal.
United States Patent Application No. 20070032284 (Englman) describes a wagering game on a gaming machine that includes the steps of receiving an initial wager from a player and dealing a set of initial game elements. The player is provided with an option to purchase an additional game element. In response to player input, none or more of the initial game elements are replaced with respective replacement game elements and, if the player exercised the option, the method also includes dealing the additional game element to form a set of final game elements.
United States Patent Application No. 20040212147 (Ward et al.) discusses a poker type game in which cards numbering less than those in a standard deck of card are used to form a field of cards and a set of dealt cards. The cards of the field of cards are displayed face down. The set of dealt cards are displayed face-up. The combination of the cards in the field of cards and set of dealt cards includes at least one Royal Flush combination. The player discards cards from the set of dealt cards and selects replacement cards to the discarded cards from the field of cards. The player's hand is formed from the set of dealt cards, less any discarded cards, plus the replacement cards.
Each of the references discussed in this text art are incorporated herein in their entirety for all purposes.
It is an ever-increasing challenge to provide players with new and enticing gameplay features that will stimulate player interest and increase time at the machine. It would be advantageous to provide the replacement deck in a standard draw poker game with certain additional cards so that the player may have a greater probability of achieving a winning final hand.